Primary sourceBookc. 1591-1595
Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare · c. 1591-1595
An early tragedy by Shakespeare about two young lovers from feuding Italian families, one of his most popular plays.
Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's earliest and most popular tragedies, written during his lifetime.
About this source
What it is
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1591 and 1595 and first published in a quarto in 1597. It tells of the doomed romance between two young people from feuding families in Verona, Italy.
Why it matters
Shakespeare based the plot on an Italian tale by Matteo Bandello, retold in English by Arthur Brooke and William Painter, but expanded it with new characters and sub-plots. The play shows his growing skill at mixing comedy and tragedy and giving characters different poetic styles, and it became one of the most performed and adapted works in his lifetime and ever since.
Look closer
- Why do you think this story of young love and family feud stayed popular for so long?
- How does Shakespeare use poetry differently for different characters?
- What does the early, poor-quality printed version tell us about how plays were copied and sold at the time?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Shakespeare on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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